Coming Home
by musingsofnobody
Summary: What if it had taken her four years to take down Volkoff?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just trying to get back into writing, after I toasted my hard drive and lose all there was to it. Nothing has changed though, I still don't own Chuck.

Title: Coming Home

Chapter 1: Meetings

It had taken her four years to complete the mission – to finally take down Volkoff Industries for good. "This is it Sarah, we're free." Mary Bartowski says with a somewhat relieved smile on her face. For the last four years, the older woman had been the only person there for her, and now, she looks up to her like her own mother.

"I know." She replies, a hint of relief can be traced in her voice. Mostly though, all she feels is fear – of what lies ahead, of what she had left behind. Together, they both take a deep breath as they heard the pilot speak.

_This is your Capt. Rodney Andrews. Our ETA is thirty minutes past four in the morning. _

_

* * *

_

The bright rays of the morning sun passing through the curtains slightly illuminated the room. The TRON poster no longer hangs in its place, and the usually clean room looks a little messy right now.

Two bodies, entangled in the sheets are sound asleep. A knock on the front door slightly causes one of them to stir. A few minutes later, the knock comes again. One of the brunettes eyes the clock on the bed side table. It read 7:23 AM.

She grumbles and turns to face the man lying next to her. "Are you expecting someone?" She barely mutters to him. When he shakes his head no, she asks him to go and check who it was.

He could never say no to her. Not a second later, he finds himself walking towards the door. He slightly grumbles, still half asleep. "Don't you think it's too early for a delivery?" He says, before he looks up.

He sees a nervous smile across his visitor's face. Suddenly, all the nerves in his body are wide awake, his eyeballs almost popping out. "S-s-Sarah?"

* * *

The first thing Mary Bartowski promised herself to do once everything was over is to find her family, hoping against all hope that they'd still find it in their hearts to welcome her – maybe not with open arms, but she'll take what she can get.

So without giving it much thought, she pays a place she hardly knows a visit. The new place is hardly anything like Echo Park. From the outside, she could see a spacious yard, complete with a slide, a seesaw, and a swing for little tykes. She wonders how many grandchildren she has now.

The last time she was able to check was around three years ago. Keeping tabs on everyone over the past few years had been difficult, especially when Volkoff had become too suspicious about everything, and a slight betrayal of trust could jeopardize their mission. She couldn't risk that. Too much is at stake.

Standing outside their gate, she wonders if any of them were at home. She finally rings the doorbell, and when she hears her son-in-law's voice, she almost wants to hide.

"Mrs. Bartowski…" Surprise is evident on Devon's voice, she can tell. She wasn't sure if it's the good kind though.

"Is Ellie there?" She asks, and before Devon can even respond, she comes across an expression she had feared to see from someone she had longed to meet.

"Mom?"

* * *

That's it! I know, it's short, but it's a start. I already have this story outlined, so I hope you can all be there to see how it goes. I guess I kinda missed the angst in the show. Not that I don't like how things are going with our lovely Charah, because trust me, I do. That said, why don't you drop me a review? Pretty please? :) I'd love to hear from you.

I still don't have a beta. I don't really know how to find one. (I'm kinda old and still new at this at the same time. Is that possible?). So yeah, forgive my grammar.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I know it's weird. I mean, who misses angst, right? Me. But I might have overreacted. This won't be as angsty as how I'd expected. Lol. Anyway, here's the next bit.

Title: Coming Home

Chapter 2: Catching Up

"Mom?" The face she sees is one of disbelief. Like her daughter had just seen a ghost. There are a number of possible outcomes on how this situation can end, but the one her daughter chooses is something that surprises her.

Ellie Bartowski can be very stubborn sometimes, but she's not stupid. Yes, she can be difficult, but she can also be very forgiving. Tears welled up in her eyes when her daughter rushed to her and enveloped her in to a tight hug. "We've missed you."

A toddler rushes to the three of them from the front door. "Mommy! Daddy!" she calls out. It is right here, at this moment, that Mary Bartowski sees her granddaughter for the first time.

"Is that my granddaughter?" She temporarily forgets that she had been an absentee mother for the most part of her children's lives. She focused on the little ball of energy as Devon picked her up.

"Mary, meet your granddaughter, Clara Samantha Woodcomb." Devon flashes his usual smile, complete with the dimple that comes with it. He was actually worried about how his wife would react, but seeing how good things are going, he can't imagine how else the whole thing is supposed to go.

"She's beautiful. How are you little Clara?" She can't remember the last time she had felt this certain lightness in her. She felt so elated, like finally, everything is going her way.

"Daddy, who is she?" The little girl certainly takes up after her mother. She had tried her best to ask her father in all subtlety, but the adults all ended up hearing it. She earned a smile from all three of them.

"She's your grandma, baby." Devon tries to explain then turns to both Ellie and Mary. "We'll see you both inside." Ellie nods with a smile.

Mary is hesitant to speak, but she does anyway. "Eleanor…I'm sorry – " Ellie cuts her off mid sentence.

"I forgive you mom." She takes a deep breath as if trying to stop tears from falling. "You've been gone far too long, and I'm not stupid. You're here now, that's what matters. I'm not about to let you walk out on me again, on us…"

She took her daughter's hand in hers. "I'm not going anywhere this time." She gives her hand a squeeze as if trying to convince the younger Bartowski.

"Good. That's all I wanted to hear." Relief washes over her as she envelopes Mary into another hug. "Come on in, so Clara can get to know you…"

- Section Break -

"S-s-Sarah?" She didn't know what to make of his reaction. Should she be glad that he still remembers her? But really, who can forget _the _Sarah Walker?

"Hi, Morgan." There was that feeling again. She had never felt this…_uneasy, _until now. Trying to take a peak into the apartment, she doesn't know what else to say to the still-bearded-man. She decides it can wait until she sees Chuck personally, so instead, she asks, "How have you been?"

She takes the small smile that forms on his face as a good sign. Or was it? "Who is it Morgan?" They both hear from the inside. The female voice slightly causes her insides to turn. Relief washes over her when she realizes it's from Alex.

"Sarah? Sarah Walker?" She expected every worst welcome possible, from a slap on the face (not that her leaving would have a great deal of effect on the brunette, but still) to being told to get lost coz they just don't care about her anymore. So when the small brunette envelopes her in a hug, it comes as a shock to her. "Is it over? Are you back…for good?" She hadn't expected it to come from her.

Hearing the question, she remembers the conversation she had with Beckman about a week ago. After four years, she still answers to the same general. It's kind of comforting on her part at the time – that some things remained the same. – but then, not really.

_She had asked for a private word with the general that day. "Do you have any concerns, Agent Walker?" Diane Beckman asked, still with that monotonic voice of hers._

"_General, as you know, Volkoff Industries has been stopped for good. That said, general, I would like to file for an official resignation." She hands her an envelope, in which the general assumed to be her resignation letter._

"_You know it doesn't work like that Agent Walker." The general is suddenly up from her seat, and she hands back the envelope to the Agent. "I am giving you a three month leave from field work. After then, you will report back here at Langley and we will discuss things by then. That is an _order_."_

Morgan finally notices that it takes her longer than it should to answer, so finally, he asks, "You know what, why don't you come inside, and we can, maybe catch up?" Although she still hasn't recovered from her sudden trip down memory lane, nor has she seen any sign of Chuck, she accepts. Mainly because she misses this – being around people she knows, without worrying they might kill her.

- Section Break -

Ellie let Mary settle herself in the living room. From the couch, she can see a lot of family pictures. There is one of Ellie, Devon and Clara. She assumes Clara is about two years old in the picture. In it, Devon was carrying her on his shoulders while Ellie made sure her little girl doesn't fall. There's one of Chuck and Clara too. He was just holding his niece in it while the little brunette snacked on her blue cotton candy. She assumes it had been taken maybe a year ago.

Ellie finally joins her in the room after letting Devon bathe their little girl this time. "Don't let her play in the bubbles alone, Devon!" She shouts a little so her husband could hear. She grins at her mother. "Those two make such a mess with the bubble bath."

Mary nods her head with a smile. "She's beautiful Eleanor, a lot like you when you were a little girl." Ellie offers her a small smile.

"So how have you been, mom?" She says the words like they are new to her, and in reality, they are. When she feels that Mary is hesitant to answer, she adds "I know you're not allowed to talk about it, but just tell me, are you really back for good this time?"

With Ellie's question, her jaws tightened, and her gaze firmed. "Yes, I'm not going anywhere." Her words are light; like it's the best news she's told anyone in a long time, but also heavy, as if trying to convince her daughter that it's the truth.

There is no way Ellie can stop the tears from falling. She smiles through it. "That's really great news." For the third time that they, she gives her a hug. After a while, she finally contains herself and adds, "By the way, where's Sarah?"

With a smile, Mary answers, "She came back with me this morning, and she decided to go see your brother. Speaking of, how is Chuck?"

- Section Break -

She settles in the living room, taking everything in. She noticed that the walls had been painted a lighter shade of beige. She guesses they all had fun doing it. She felt a little sorry for herself, knowing she wasn't there when it happened. She's brought out of her thoughts when Alex finally joins her in the living room.

"So Sarah, when did you come back?" She starts off with a smile on her face as she plopped herself down the couch.

Sarah couldn't place a finger to it, but it's as if it was a great deal for Alex that she's back. If her memory serves her right, they weren't that close four years ago.

"Just this morning, I came here as soon as I our plane landed." She explains. Alex didn't respond, as if cuing her to go on. "I was really hoping to see everyone." She looks around the room, hoping _her lanky nerd_ will come out of nowhere, "I guess I came at a bad time?"

Alex shakes her head no. From her seat, she can see Morgan pacing around the kitchen, holding his phone to his ear. He seems to be talking to someone.

"They didn't really tell me much about it, you know, about you being gone and all." Alex tells her, and she is all ears. "They said it was classified info." She's alarmed by her words and a little pained knowing she could've killed a friend four years ago.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about Cas– " She tries to explain, only to be cut off.

"My dad told me everything. How it was just a plan, and that he was the one who roped you into doing it in the first place. It's not your fault, and he's doing really well these days...I hope." Alex gives her a reassuring smile as Morgan joined them in the room.

Hearing news about Casey just makes her want to hear about Chuck, how he is these days, and most especially, where he is. But although her need to see him is great, she feels she had lost her right to ask about him the moment she left him lying on the floor of the Trident Tower four years ago.

"I really appreciate the warm welcome, but I should probably go." She says, and the couple in front of her fell silent. Just when she's about to get up, she feels a sting on her neck.

"I'm so, so, so, sorry Sarah." She can hear Morgan's voice as everything went blurry. "But we have our orders…" She then realizes Morgan Grimes has just tranqued her.

- Section Break -

This chapter's a filler, just letting Sarah and Mary get back into everyone's lives. I know you're waiting for the Charah part. It's coming. I promise. Sooooo..that's it!

Some of you guys saw through it, you know, about the brunettes being Morgan and Alex. Hehe. I just had to do that, and I do agree with you guys that even though it's been 4 years, Chuck can't just give up on Sarah like that! Or can he?

I guess you'll just have to find out next chapter. So, any guesses on where Chuck might be? :)

And please review! ;)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I am floored by what you guys think, although there's this one which I think was uncalled for. Anyhow, here's the next bit.

Title: Coming Home

Chapter 3: Missed Calls, Tranq Darts and A Note

FLASHBACK

The first few weeks had been the worst. Several months later, things weren't any easier either. It was the fact that he can't talk to her, nor see her that pained him the most. He heaves a heavy sigh and drags himself out of bed. It's exactly a year ago today when he had been left lying unconscious on the floor of the Trident Tower. The familiar voice of his best friend brought him out of his thoughts.

"Chuck! Casey called. Castle. NOW." Morgan says, his head poking through his door. He checked his phone, and true enough, he had missed a call from Casey.

An hour later, he finds himself at Castle. "Try answering your phone next time, moron." He hears from Casey followed by a slap on the back of his head. "Briefing in 15 minutes."

15 minutes later, the familiar face of Diane Beckman appears on the screen. "Good morning agents, and Mr. Grimes." She greets, and before she can even say her next words, he interrupts her.

"General, is there any news on Sarah and my mom? Anything Volkoff related?" Casey lets off a displeased grunt. This isn't the first time that Chuck had asked the question.

"No, I'm afraid we still don't have anything direct from them for you Agent Bartowski, but this morning's meeting is quite related to your inclination on Volkoff." With the mention of the name, he is suddenly all ears.

"It had come to our knowledge that Agent Walker and Agent Frost are having a hard time moving inside Volkoff Industries, apparently due to someone from the outside who's always trying to hack into their system, Volkoff is being more cautious." This time, she eyes Chuck and his eyes couldn't give him more away (not that General Beckman knew how to read them).

"Now, I am not saying this as an accusation, but starting now, your team is to stop doing anything to make contact inside Volkoff industries. Am I understood?" Chuck is about to protest when Beckman adds, "And Agent Bartowski? The secured line we established a year ago had been cut off. If you have no more concerns, then that would be all."

Before he can even say another word, she's gone. _Great, _he thinks. _So Fucking great._

* * *

PRESENT DAY

"You what?" Morgan Grimes had never heard that from John Casey.

"Yes! I tranqued her! Why the hell is Chuck not answering his phone?" He replies in quite a panicked voice, then eyeing the blonde who is currently unconscious on the couch.

"Moron's having a hard time hacking into the system." Casey explains then turning to Chuck who's too engaged in breaking codes for their mission. "We'll get back as soon as we can." With that, Casey ended the call.

"Was that Morgan? What's he calling about?" Chuck asks, not taking his eyes off of the computer screen.

"You might want to hurry that up, we need to get back early. Something came up." Casey grunts, almost happily, but Chuck's too focused on the mission. _Rather, someone,_ he thought.

Back at the apartment, Morgan finds himself pacing around the living room. "What did my dad say? Are they coming?" Alex asks from the couch.

"They still haven't finished the mission, but they'll come as soon as possible." He scratches his head, and then brings out a couple of tranq darts out of his pocket.

"And how did the tranq darts get in your pocket?" He earns a raised eyebrow from her and just laughs nervously. Sarah showing up this early has done nothing good for him.

"Aren't you just thankful that I had them when I needed them?" He sees Sarah shift a little. He almost hurries to stick another dart into her, but decides against it...for now. _"You owe me bigtime, Chuck. BIGTIME."_

* * *

FLASHBACK

Her first year deep undercover in Volkoff Industries has got to be the worst year of her entire existence. Not being able to talk to him, nor be close to him for a year had taken its toll on her. She realizes she had missed a couple of Bartowski family gatherings by now. She really loved those.

"Penny for your thoughts, Agent Walker?" Alexei Volkoff finds her staring out the balcony at headquarters that night. She chooses to stay silent, and although unsolicited, he gives her a thought.

"I still don't trust you Agent Walker." It is a fact. One she is very well aware of. One year, and still, nothing. "But you are allowed to see Chuck, you know." She almost follows his suggestion instantly. "Just don't let him see you."

The first time it happens, it's September of the second year. She is very well aware of the repercussions that might occur if he sees her, but her need to see him is _greater._

She finds him sitting alone at _their _spot on the beach. She looks at him and she knows that inside he's hurting. She also knows that most of the pain is because of her. She drives away leaving him there. She doesn't notice if he even recognizes the sound of her Porsche. That night, she finds herself in his room, careful to check any surveillance cameras if there were any. Luckily, there were none.

His Buy More shirt hangs by the door, and it feels like de ja vu. Tears welled up in her eyes as she took in his smell. She had missed that smell. By his table, she eyes a pen and a piece of paper. She knows it's too much to ask, she shouldn't do it, but she does. She writes him a note, and with that, she left.

* * *

PRESENT DAY

"What's got you in a hurry Casey?" Chuck asked as he finished off with their mission. From his peripheral, he can see the colonel grunt. "What, Morgan couldn't wait until we get back and told you he's proposing to Alex?"

He gets a you-are-dead-if-you-don't-take-that-back-glare from Casey. Soon enough, Casey's hand was choking him. "What did you say, numbnuts?"

"I guess…that's not why…he called." Chuck replies already having trouble breathing. "Casey…I can't breathe…" The colonel finally lets him go. Casey doesn't give him an answer and just gets into the van. Chuck noticed that he drove _a lot _faster than he usually did.

It's a quarter after one when Casey finally pulls into the driveway. "Don't you just hate early morning missions? I still have to go to the Buy More to fix computers." Chuck sighs in frustration before getting out of the car.

Casey grunts once again. He honestly couldn't wait for what's to come, be it Armageddon or something better, he just wants it over. He hopes it's not the first. "You might want to check with Grimes first, something about tranquing _someone._" Casey tells Chuck, and then walks off to the direction of his own apartment.

He finds Casey's words a little baffling. Curious about what it is, he heads to Alex and Morgan's apartment.

* * *

"I'm sure Chuck will be very happy to see you. I can't wait to see Sarah." Ellie shares as she cleaned up the dishes.

"I can't wait to see him as well, but Sarah had asked me to let her see him first, just in case…" Her voice trails off as she continued drying the dishes.

"In case what?" It is as if Ellie knew what she's thinking. "In case Chuck doesn't want to see her?" Mary nods and Ellie let's out a little laugh. "He's a Bartowski mom. That's never going to happen."

* * *

"So let me get this, she's been here for the last, oh I don't know, 8 hours, unconscious, because you tranqued her might I add, and you didn't call me?" Chuck paced around the living room trying to keep his voice down.

"First of all man, didn't you tell all of us to never, _never_, **NEVER** let her leave if we see her? Second of all, I called you, but you weren't picking up! So I called Casey and I thought he told you!" Morgan argued.

"Geez guys, calm down. Isn't the important thing here is that Sarah's here?" Alex says, turning to Chuck.

Chuck heaves a defeated sigh and kneels on the side of the still unconscious blonde. "How many tranq darts did you use on her Morgan?" He brushes a stray hair away from her face. When his best friend doesn't answer, he just shakes his head and gets up.

"I'm sorry I had to do that to her, but really Chuck, what chance do I have against a super spy? Either she leaves and we never see her again, or I tranq her until you get back, obviously, the first is not an option." Morgan explains as if trying to make Chuck see his point.

"I'll just take her to my place and stay with her until she wakes up." He tells the other two brunettes finally agreeing with Morgan about the tranquing, but really, couldn't he just have asked her to stay? "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I know you only did this for me, and I owe you." He finally picks her up and that just makes her presence feel more real.

He asks Morgan to open Ellie and Awesome's old apartment door for him. As it closes behind him, he realizes just how much he had waited for this moment. "I have missed you _so much_, Sarah Walker." He mutters to himself and headed towards his bedroom carrying her in his arms.

* * *

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay. The story will now go faster from now on…well, after they have the talk...I hope! Lol. Please drop me a review, just anything about what you like or didn't like about how this chapter went, or what you want to see next. It really helps in writing the following chapters. Thanks for reading! :)


	4. NOT AN UPDATE

**NOT AN UPDATE**

Hey guys, so, I know you've been expecting an update, and I'd really love to give you one, except that I can't right now. I have this _**BIG**_ exam (can I emphasize that even more?) coming up in 2 weeks, and another in 2 months, and I barely have time to study as it is, so writing has to take the backseat for now.

Anyway, it seems that I've really gotten on the not-so-good-side of some of you, so here's what I think. You don't like how this story goes, and you just don't find it 'believable' right? Well, we're talking about the CHUCK-verse here. Computer on someone's brain ring a bell? I understand that you might not take that as an acceptable excuse, and really, I have no intention of using it as an excuse, so why not just do yourself a favor (and me too) and just don't read it if you don't like it. No need to hate. ;)

This is my story, and if I say there's just no way Chuck can get over Sarah like that, then that's the way it goes.  
Besides, you don't even know half of what's to come, so really, don't hate. ;)

Until the next update (which might be by the end of this month),  
-Chuch.


End file.
